Do-it-yourself wall calendar.
In 2015, the winter holidays accounted for $626.1 billion in spending. Consumers are gearing up to shop big during the holiday season and e-commerce sellers must find ways to take advantage of the influx in traffic. Here are some important holidays to keep in mind over the next two months.
Last year, e-commerce giant Alibaba received over $14.3 billion in online sales on Nov. 11, known as “Singles Day”. That’s more than the total U.S. online sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined in 2014.
You may have never heard of it, but Singles Day, which was created in 2009 by Alibaba’s CEO Daniel Zhang to boost online sales, is the biggest shopping day in the world. Chinese shoppers placed over 300 million orders in the 24-hour period, which takes place on the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the year. Alibaba says this year’s Singles Day will include six million products from over 40,000 merchants, and more than 30,000 brands from 25 countries, so don’t miss out!
The day after Thanksgiving, stores both online and off open their doors and shave dollars off their prices. It’s the perfect time to persuade consumers to shop for their friends and loved ones in your e-commerce shop. You don’t have to discount your prices by an unreasonable margin, but even small reductions in price can result in higher sales.
E-commerce retailers will capture consumers who want to shop for gifts, but who would rather not leave their homes on Black Friday. Instead of braving long lines and disgruntled sales personnel, they can pick out what they want from your shop and conclude the transaction painlessly.
Although Black Friday is useful for e-commerce retailers, Cyber Monday is a built-in alternative for online sellers. All over the world, on the Monday after Thanksgiving, e-tailers discount their merchandise and offer attractive deals for online shoppers. Run your own promotion to take advantage of this holiday.
Last-minute Christmas shoppers love Free Shipping Day, in which numerous e-commerce retailers participate. Add your own business to the list and entice shoppers who need to order gifts, but don’t want to pay for shipping. You can sign up at FreeShippingDay.com and provide your promo codes for the event.
Super Saturday is the last Saturday before Christmas Day. It obviously acts as a major driver of revenue for retailers being that it occurs on the last full weekend ahead of Christmas. It also marks the end of the shopping season that most consumers believe begins on Black Friday. Super Saturday lives up to its name, as it offers consumers major one-day sales in an effort to accumulate more revenue during the holiday season.
Christmas is one of the most important days of the year for shoppers. Everywhere in the world, consumers are pulling out their wallets to shell out cash for products they think their loved ones will appreciate.
Running a Christmas promotion is an essential first step for e-commerce retailers. Start early in December so shoppers can leave time for shipping and wrapping. You might offer other types of promotions, such as free gift wrapping and free gift tags, to encourage shoppers to buy from your store.
Boxing Day is December 26, the day after Christmas, and is observed in the United Kingdom, Canada, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and some other Commonwealth nations. It is best known as a frenzy of heavily discounted prices and aggressive shoppers. As the number of people shopping online over the holidays increase each year, it is consistently one of the biggest retail days of the year.
Other holidays around this time, such as Hanukkah (Dec 24-Jan 1) and Kwanzaa (Dec 26-Jan 1), shouldn’t be left out. Examine your customers and the areas in which they live to determine how or if you can maximize these additional holidays. If you run a Christmas sale, consider adding Hanukkah and Kwanzaa celebrants to the mix. Alternatively, advertise your products in a holiday sale so you don’t rule out anyone of faith.
The upcoming holidays offer a prime opportunity for e-commerce retailers to take advantage of consumer shopping sprees. Focus your promotions on each individual event, and sign up for Payoneer to access a convenient, affordable way to process your online payments.